Moments in Time
by Elle Knight
Summary: A companion piece to 'Of Time and Blue Boxes'. Time out for ice cream on Coney Island allows Jack to contemplate new relationships and old. A very, slight bit of JackTen at the end. One shot.


Okay, I'm back, and I know I promised you another multi-chapter story after the last two one-shots, but I just couldn't resist writing this one last one. For the multi-chapter vacation themed story, I was hoping to have inspiration from my own vacation to draw from. That's not happening for a week, so for now you're just going to have to live with this. LOL. Hope you like this; it's a bit angsty. It's really somewhat a reflection in response to THAT news. (I'm not going to be spoilery for those of you trying to catch up. You should know what I'm talking about if you're following the current airing of the series.) A very brief moment of Jack/Ten in here. I hope you enjoy, and please review as always.

Dedications…hmmmm…I have no idea. To Billie Piper, for playing a FANTASTIC character, to John Barrowman for allowing all of us to fall in love with Captain Jack, and to all the people at the Fourth Doctor Fan Community on Livejournal for being so helpful with all of my questions. I love you guys:-)

Excuse all the possible inaccuracies regarding Coney Island and the cost of ice cream at the time. I tooka risk with the dialogue and a guess with the money amounts of the time. Apologies in advance if there's a problem!

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**Moments in Time**

A soft, summer breeze rustled through the room, blowing Alix's hair around her face. Jack stared back at her from the long line gathered in front of the counter of the ice cream parlor. The Doctor had thoroughly warned them about Coney Island in 1925. It was a popular destination for families and couples in the summer, and it would probably be teeming with people. Alix hadn't voiced an objection; not wanting to pass up the opportunity to spend a normal summer afternoon eating ice cream with her two best friends because she'd insisted that was what _normal_ best friends did.

She was beautiful. Jack told her that at least ten times a day; maybe even more. Of course, Jack had those relationships fueled by some kind of desire to fill a void inside of him, but this wasn't like all the others. That had stopped when he'd met Rose. She was the answer to the question he'd been asking himself for years. She was the friend he'd been missing in his life. She taught him to love again. One day, he'd thank her for giving him Alix in some distant way.

There were similarities between the two that he often caught on to, and he wondered if the Doctor ever saw them, too. On the outside they were radically different. Where Rose had blonde hair and bright brown eyes, Alix possessed auburn locks and green eyes that seemed to stare right into you. She was striking, not at all subtle. People never failed to notice her wherever they ended up. She had no idea, of course. On the inside, though, the same spirit was there; the same intense craving for adventure and something completely beyond her. They both plunged head first into worlds that they couldn't even dream about. It was a quality everyone wanted to have, but rarely had the courage to put into action. That's what they were about, courage and support.

He studied the conversation that she was having with the Doctor. Alix was laughing loudly at something he'd just told her. She tried putting her hand to her mouth to muffle the sound, but it wasn't helping all that much. The breeze continued to tease her hair and the bow on her small, straw hat, and she took notice of Jack staring at her. She gave him an overenthusiastic wave, and the Doctor did the same. Both smiled at him before turning to each other, bursting into giggles. Jack couldn't help but smile at that. There were times so similar to this one when he'd been with Rose and the Doctor before this one, sitting in tiny little cafés in some corner of the world enjoying simple afternoons. They enjoyed each other; it never got old, and then everything changed. Well, everything changed around him; he was still the same person.

The Doctor had gained a new face, and Rose moved on to start a normal life. He was left…alone. Sometimes, in a strange way, he felt like he was the only one left who remembered those times. He loved Alix, yes, but this love for his two best friends was different. It was a first love; a never-ending love. It was a love that could always find you, even in those last moments they spent all together. He could still feel this love, but it had changed just like everyone around him. It had been tested and renewed. He hadn't really lost it in the years since then; he'd just buried it with the pain of losing the only two people he'd really cared about in his life.

The moment he'd met the Doctor again, he felt that connection. He remembered. Alix made him believe that it was possible again. They were three again after spending so much time apart. Yes, he missed Rose all the time, but it wasn't as if she wasn't completely out of his life. It hurt him to know that she wanted them to stay away for a little longer while she got her life back on track, but there was always an opportunity to go back and see her again; renew their relationship. He really hadn't lost everything, it had only seemed like that in the beginning.

"Sir?" A soft, female voice called. He turned toward the counter. There was no one ahead of him now, and he stepped up to the beaming salesgirl. He got that smile a lot.

"Sorry, I'd like a single scoop of mint chocolate chip, two scoops of chocolate in a waffle cone bowl with nuts and sprinkles, and a banana split, thanks." She wrote down the order, adding up the cost.

"That'll be fifteen cents." Her words were thick with a New York accent. He gave her another disarming smile before digging in his pocket for the right change. Checking to be sure it was the right currency for the time, he handed her the coins.

"Thanks. We'll have it right up for you."

He strolled back to the table, catching the last words of their conversation.

"If you want a bit of sun and sand, I could take you to one of the leisure planets. They always have exactly what you'd want for rest and relaxation. You'd have an absolute blast." The Doctor's voice rose.

"Have you compromised yet?" They both looked up at Jack. The two knew how annoying the topic was getting for him. The Doctor and Alix just could not agree on what place to spend their two-week vacation. Jack had told them that he didn't care as long as he came back with a great tan and less stress headaches.

"I still don't see a reason why we can't just stay on the planet?" Alix's voice dropped as she said this.

"Because," the Doctor was shocked, "when you're traveling with me, you have to expect to see the universe. We just can't stay in one place all the time." Ah, the lovely, familiar banter. It had taken a while for Jack to miss this.

"I have seen the universe, but everywhere we go is threatened by some war or revolution; they're always ruined by an uprising or nuclear fallout. I want to be on a beach all day, not wanting to worry about running for my life. I want some real sleep!" She laughed, but they both knew how serious she really was. Alix wasn't sleeping well as of late, and Jack was beginning to wonder if their adventures were already wearing her down.

"I know, I know; but there are places in the universe set aside for this sort of thing." Alix's expression remained unchanged.

"Fine, if you don't like it, we'll come back here, and you can choose what beach you want to lay out on for two weeks." She thought about this momentarily.

"Deal."

"Wonderful!" The Doctor clapped his hands. "We'll leave in a few hours. Right now, I think our order's up." He nodded his head toward the pick-up counter. Jack grabbed their ice cream along with a stack of napkins; they were bound to have sticky fingers in this heat.

"Thanks, Jack," the Doctor gave him a smile, taking the ice cream from him.

"Yep, thanks. Mmmmmmmm…" Alix took a huge lick from her cone. "Yum." Jack laughed, and she shot him an irritated look. Unbeknownst to her, she'd smeared ice cream all over her chin and nose.

"Here, let me get that for you." Gently, Jack wiped the gooey mess from her face.

"Oh, thanks." Alix scoffed at her own ignorance.

"You know what? I think she'd looked better with it on." The Doctor gave Jack a mischievous wink. Jack cocked his head to the side, studying Alix.

"You just may be right. It's really not much of an improvement."

"Hey!" Alix dipped two fingers into the whipped cream on Jack's banana split, smearing it on his and the Doctor's nose. She smiled in satisfaction. "That's better."

Within moments, all three had whipped cream coating most of their faces. They broke into loud laughter.

"You should see yourselves!" The Doctor could hardly get in any words. "You look ridiculous."

"You're not much better!" Alix shot back, avoiding Jack as he tried to shake some of the white substance into her hair. She threw some napkins at the Doctor while she tried to clean her face off.

"What about me?" Jack asked, in a mock hurt tone.

"Get your own napkins!"

"Why you little…"

"All right, all right. I think the owners of this wonderful establishment would love us to stop making a mess of their beautiful shop. What do you say we go? Off to bigger things."

"Vacation! Just two weeks of relaxing on a beach somewhere. Oooo, I can't wait! Yes, let's go." Alix nearly knocked her chair over.

"Ugh. I just hope I can get all this stuff out of my hair." Jack teased.

"What? Your silky locks just can't handle all that sugar?"

"Well, I'm not the one who screamed when the stuff got in my eyes, _princess_." The Doctor slung his arms around each of their shoulders, separating them.

"Now, now, you two. Kiss and make up." Alix shot him a vaguely annoyed look, and Jack gazed over at her, waggling his eyebrows.

"What do you say?"

"Fine, but only because the Doctor asked so nicely." Reaching across the Doctor, they shared a quick kiss. He gave both of them a slightly uncomfortable look.

"Jealous are we, Doctor?" Alix asked, planting a kiss on the Doctor's lips as well. "There, now I suppose we're even." Unexpectedly, Jack reached over, kissing the Doctor before anyone could protest.

"_Now_ we're even." The three of them broke into laughter, making their way down the wooden walkway. It was these moments in time that Jack had always cherished with the Doctor and Rose, and it was these moments in time that he now looked forward to with Alix and the Doctor with the new face. Because though the world around him had changed, Jack Harkness had remained the same. The love of his friends, new and old, would always be there. He just had to remember where to look.


End file.
